Embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday appointed former Cabinet minister and party leadership contender Jeremy Hunt as her new Chancellor, after she sacked close friend Kwasi Kwarteng in an effort to stem the economic turmoil unleashed by his mini-budget.
“The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer,” Downing Street tweeted.
Hunt was himself in the race for the top job after Boris Johnson resigned in July, but threw his weight behind former Chancellor Rishi Sunak after he did not get enough Conservative Party members backing him in the leadership election. His appointment is seen as Truss’ attempt at closing the widening divide within the Tories, with many of Sunak loyalists in open rebellion against her policies.
In her letter to Kwarteng released on Twitter, Truss said she was sorry to lose him and indicates that she still believes in the broader economic vision laid out in the controversial mini-budget.
“We share the same vision for our country and the same firm conviction to go for growth. You have been Chancellor in extraordinarily challenging times in the face of severe global headwinds,” she writes.
It came in the course of a day of high political drama at the heart of Downing Street with the exit of Kwarteng – in office at the UK Treasury for only 38 days. He took to Twitter soon after to confirm that he had been asked to “step aside” as Chancellor.